Process of administering aeriform fluids



(No Mor l el.) J. G. KENNEDY.

PROCESS OF ADMINISTERING AERIFORM FLUIDS. No. 408,723. Patented Aug. 13, 1889. v

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I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JOHN G. KENNEDY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PROCESS OF ADMINISTERIN G AERIFORM FLUIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,723, dated August 13, 1889. Application filed December 13, 1888. Serial No. 293,443. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN G. KENNEDY, a

' citizen of the United States, residing at Deis a specification, reference bcin g had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a method and apparatus for administering air or gases into the respiratory organs and the passages connected therewith; and the invention consists in administering such air or gas from a receptacle into which said air or gas has been previously compressed through a flexible pipe or hose having a nozzle on the free end adapted to become sealed when put'into the mouth or nose, such air or gas being administered under such relatively high pressure and with a continuous flow as to dilate and impact the air-passages. The use of medicated air or gas administered into the respiratory organs and passages connected therewith for curative purposes is so well known to the medical practice, and the great benefits which may be derived from such treatment in the hands of a competent practitioner are so fully known and recognized, that I may omit further reference thereto and confine myself to the state of the art as relating to the apparatus in present use for the purpose. One class of such apparatus is based upon the principle of inhalation, and the administration by means of such apparatus necessarily depends altogether upon the active and positive co-operation of the patient, and even if used in the most expert manner it is not adapted to produce a very high degree of dilation or expansion in the air-cells of the lungs, the nasal cavities, and bronchial tubes.

The object of my invention is an apparatus especially designed to produce the highest degree of dilation and impaction of the lungs and the air-passages connected therewith without requiring more than a passive or negative co-operation 011 the part of the patient and without any liability of carrying it beyond the safe limit.

To this end my apparatus consists of a condenser of suitable capacity and strength to contain under high pressure a quantity of fluid suffieient to dilate and impact the respiratory organs at one continuous operation, a flexible tube attached thereto and provided at its free end with a nozzle adapted to become sealed when placed in the mouth or nose, stop-cock or valve located between the condenser and the sealed nozzle to control or permit a constant flow of the fluid from the condenser at a maximum pressure therein through the flexible tube and sealed nozzle, the mouth of the patient acting in combination as an automatic safety-valve.

Vessels containing medicating-liquids may be located intermediate. Such vessels are not for the purpose of lowering the pressure, as in other apparatus, but so arranged as to permit the compressed fluid to pass through them without lowering the pressure by locating the stop-cock or governing-valve in such position that when open a free and continuous flow at a uniform pressure is insured throughout the series of vessels from the condenser to the outlet in the sealed nozzle, all as more fully hereinafter described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a diagram of an apparatus embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a nozzle used for dilating and inflating the air-passages and the nasal cavities.

A is the reservoir or con denser, of suffi cient capacity to inflate the air-passages of the lungs by one continuous operationsay, two hundred cubic inches, more or less. This condenser should be of sufficient strength to resist the pressure of one hundred pounds to the square inch.

13 is a pressure-gage attached to the condenser to indicate the pressure.

0 is a cock.

D is a tube, and E is an air-pump of suitable description to force the compressed air or gas into the reservoir to the required pressure.

F is acock, and G is a flexible deliverytube.

I and II are two nozzles adapted to be secured to the free end of the delivery-tube G. The nozzle I is adapt-ed to form a stopper or seal when inserted into the nose, and the noz zle H is adapted to seal the mouth when the lips of the patient are closed tightly upon it.

For delivering medicated air the dischargetube is connected with suitable vessels K and K, through which the flow of gas or air may be directed to be impregnated with certain medicaments contained in said vessels, as in the well-known manner of medicating air.

I11 practice the operation of administering is carried out substantially in the following manner: Close the cock F and open the cock C, and put the pump in action until the gage indicates from 25 to 100 pounds of pressure. To dilate and impact the bronchial tubes and air-cells of the lungs, attach nozzle II to the free end of the delivery-tube and insert such nozzle into the patients mouth, with the lips closed tightly around the sealingpiece, the nose being held closed by grasping it with the thumb and fingers. Then open cock F and allow the compressed air or gas to flow continuously until the lungs and air-passages are thoroughly expanded, inflated, and impacted to the limit at which the patient will be able to bear the pressure, and when this limit is reached the internal pressure will part the lips of thepatientaround the mouthpiece sufficiently to allow the gas or air to escape.

I have found by experience that the mouth will act as a perfectly reliable safety-valve, as it is impossible for the patient to maintain the seal beyond the safe point at which he is able to submit to the pressure of the-gas or air without injury.

To dilate or inflate the nasal cavities and eustachian tubes, attach the nozzle I to the free end of the delivery-tube and insert the nozzle into the nose of the patient until it becomes sealed. Close the opposite cavity of the nose by pressing 011 the nares with the finger, open cock F and allow the compressed air or gas to flow continuously, the patient meanwhile alternately opening and closing the month until the operation is completed Should the pressure at any time be too great, then the lips are automatically parted and the mouth becomes a safety-valve. The flow can be checked at any time by closing the cock F.

The difference between inhaling and my method of administeringisthatinhalingis,like breathing, the operation of the breathing apparatus of the individual, while my process is carried out by the operation of the apparatus, and requires an eflicient and automatic safetyvalve to prevent possible injury. For this purpose no better device exists than the lips of the patient when they are rendered free to part as soon as the pressure becomes too great. Even patients advanced in phthisic or suffering from hemorrhage of the lungs may be safely treated in this manner.

By inhaling, the air-cells of the lungs and the bronchial tubes and passages connected therewith cannot be dilated or inflated any more than by the ordinary action of breathing, and if these parts are obstructed by tuberculous deposits or by mucus, or contracted by inflammation, as in the various disorders or diseases of the respiratory organs, it is impossible to introduce a healing medium by inhalation, but it is possible to do so by using the mechanical force of compressed air to dilate the air-cells and impact them with the medical agent which may be conveyed with the air.

What I claim as my invention is a As an improvement in the art of administer ing aeriform fluids for the treatment of pulmonary disease and diseases of the air-passages, the herein-described method,whieh consists in first compressing the air or gas in a suitable receiverto a tension suiiicicntly great to forcibly fill and expand the air-cells of the lungs by its own elasticity, and then forming a commu nication with the lungs through the mouth or nose by suitable tubing in such manner as to allow of the escape of the surplus gas from the mouth, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 26th dayof November, 1888.

. JOHN G. KENNEDY.

Witnesses:

J. PAUL MAYER, N. B. SMITH. 

